(a)  In addition to liability under any other provision of law, any person who is liable for a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 25189 or subdivision (c) of Section 25189.2, or is convicted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25189.5, is also civilly liable for all the costs or expenses which may be incurred by the state, or by a local agency, in doing any of the following:

(1)  Assess short-term or long-term injury to, degradation or destruction of, or any loss of, any natural resource resulting from the disposal of the hazardous waste which is the subject of the civil penalty or conviction.

(2)  Restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of, any natural resource injured, degraded, destroyed, or lost as a result of the disposal of the hazardous waste which is the subject of the civil penalty or conviction.

(b)  The liability imposed by subdivision (a) is separate and in addition to any civil penalty imposed pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 25189 or subdivision (c) of Section 25189.2 or any fine imposed pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 25189.5.

(c)  Any funds collected pursuant to this section are in addition to any other funds which may be collected pursuant to this chapter.

(d)  A state or local agency may collect funds pursuant to this section prior to carrying out the actions specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).

(e)  An action brought pursuant to this section may be brought by the trustee of the natural resources specified in subdivision (c) of Section 25352. The action may be prosecuted by the Attorney General or the district attorney. The action may be prosecuted by the district attorney only after the trustee, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, approves that prosecution in writing. The trustee shall have 30 days to consider any requested action and approval shall be presumed to have been granted if a written denial is not issued within 30 days. The trustee may not unreasonably withhold approval.

(f)  All funds collected pursuant to this section by the trustee of the natural resources shall be deposited, at the discretion of the trustee, in the Fish and Wildlife Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund or in a special deposit trust fund.

(Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 1123, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1993.)